FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Motorcycle Safety Month puts a spotlight on road safety for motorcyclists and drivers alike.<\/p>\n
At Mathews Harley-Davidson, in Fresno, Melissa Walters said the growing mix of motorcycles, dirt bikes and e-bikes on local roads has made training and education more important than ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe amount of fatalities we have going on right now, the accidents, the amount of e-bikes that are kind of all over the road, and maybe using them on a daily basis to get to school, it\u2019s a challenge,” Melissa Walters said. “We need those riders to be educated too.”<\/p>\n
Mathews Harley-Davidson offers a range of safety courses for e-bikes, dirt bikes and motorcycles that ride on asphalt. <\/p>\n
Walters said the dealership is able to provide trained coaches and structured instruction for people who want to learn or sharpen their skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe resources are there and we\u2019re just fortunate to be in a position to offer such things with coaches that know what they\u2019re doing and are professionally trained and have the credentials,\u201d Melissa Walters said.<\/p>\n
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 6,000 motorcyclists were killed in 2024, accounting for 15% of all traffic fatalities. Additional NHTSA data shows motorcyclists were almost 27 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in a motor vehicle crash and were almost five times more likely to be injured.<\/p>\n
Melissa Walters said safety is a shared responsibility.<\/p>\n
Motorcycle Safety Month puts a spotlight on road safety for motorcyclists and drivers alike. (FOX26 Photojournalist Jordan Callison)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMotorcycle safety is important. It\u2019s important for automobile drivers. It\u2019s important for riders. You can never have enough safety,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For riders who are nervous about falling, the training includes how to handle that, too. <\/p>\n
Motorcyclist Maverick Walters said learning often comes with a few stumbles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really not that bad. You fall and you get up and you keep on going,\u201d Maverick Walters said.<\/p>\n
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation is hosting \u201cRide Day,\u201d offering a free 30-minute session with a professional instructor. <\/p>\n
Participants can try their first ride on dirt or asphalt. <\/p>\n
The event is scheduled for Sunday, May 31, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. <\/p>\n
Dirt bike riders must be 6 or older, and Harley-Davidson riders must be 16 or older.<\/p>\n
Safety tips for riders include wearing proper gear such as helmets, padding on arms and legs, and reflective gear; keeping space between the bike and cars; and checking the weather before riding. <\/p>\n
Tips for drivers include treating intersections with special care, sharing the road and not the lane, avoiding pulling up beside a motorcyclist, and keeping proper distance while staying alert.<\/p>\n
Free online e-bike classes are currently available at https:\/\/ebikecourse.com\/mbm\/. <\/p>\n
More information about Mathews Harley-Davidson coaches is available at https:\/\/mathewshd.com\/coaches.<\/p>\n
Motorcycle Safety Month spotlights training as key to safer rides<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) \u2014 Motorcycle Safety Month puts a spotlight on road safety for motorcyclists and drivers alike.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-308746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}